Adele Addison, Springfield's Soprano

Docent Adele Gladstone-Gilbert explores the story of Springfield's soprano Adele Addison who is pictured in Sante Graziani's mural, on view in the D'Amour Museum of Fine Arts.

In 1942, the D’Amour Museum of Fine Arts announced a competition for the creation of a mural to be displayed in the galleries. The winner, Sante Graziani (1920-2005), designed a wall painting that included many of the arts prominent in the city including dance, music, theater, painting, sculpture, architecture, and photography. Music is represented by five youths singing and playing instruments, as well as by the Springfield resident Adele Addison, holding a violin and shown prominently in the foreground. Addison represented not only the art of singing, but the creative contributions of the Black community to the vibrant art scene in Springfield. She went on to national acclaim as an opera singer.